Tuesday, February 16, 2010

I recently booked a spontaneous trip to Thailand with a few schoolmates. One of our friends is returning to Pattaya, his home for the last seven years, and invited us over for a week of good eating, sun-bathing, boozing, general Thai-themed shenanigans, and a nice place to stay.

While it's been an interesting learning experience as far as traveling with four people you've only known for two-months or less (and who have completely opposite personalities...we've all admitted that we would not likely have become friends under different circumstances. It's like bad reality TV.), the trip has certainly not disappointed as far as the above criteria go. The highlights:

Good Eating
Of course, always a must!

Soups, always spicy: Lots of duck and pork noodle soups with more chili than I've probably consumed in the last year put together. Best tom yum kung and tom kha kai ever. Thais do such an amazing job combining salty, sweet, spicy, sour. Also firmly believe you can't go wrong with kaffir lime and coconut milk.

Such fresh seafood (there is something so beautiful about eating decadent seafood meals while staring out at the ocean): lemon whole fish, crab, prawns, scallop salads

Western food: I'm staying at a Swiss guy's house, so there's also been a fair share of steak and potatoes and tons of cheese plates with Parma ham and this special cured beef found in the mountains of Switzerland.

About Ash

Grew up in Chinese restaurants in Austin, Texas. Left cube life as a PR foodie in NYC/Boston to become a wandering yogi/farmer/eater/student. This blog chronicles a year of discovering that to think outside of the box, you usually have to get out of the box.

Currently residing out of the box and on a mat instead: www.yogiaustin.com.